New research by a team at Pennsylvania State University suggests that microbes in the human gut could be harnessed to help the body absorb useful nutritional metals—like iron, which is critical for red blood cells—and block or even remove the absorption of toxic ones, like mercury. The group presents their findings at ASM Microbe 2023, the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.
New research by a team at Pennsylvania State University suggests that microbes in the human gut could be harnessed to help the body absorb useful nutritional metals—like iron, which is critical for red blood cells—and block or even remove the absorption of toxic ones, like mercury. The group presents their findings at ASM Microbe 2023, the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.
Methyl mercury is particularly worrisome, said Daniela Betancurt-Anzola, a graduate student at Penn State who led the new study. It is a neurotoxin that can lead to blindness, organ damage, and, if untreated, even death.
